The Airport Express metro is the quickest way into Delhi: about 25 minutes from Terminal 3 to New Delhi station for ₹64, clear of the traffic. For Humayun's Tomb, Qutub Minar or India Gate a cab is simpler, and after the last train it's the only way back.
What's the best way from Delhi airport into the city?
For the Red Fort and Old Delhi, take the Airport Express from Terminal 3: about 25 minutes to New Delhi station for ₹64, then one metro stop. For Humayun's Tomb, Qutub Minar or India Gate, take a prepaid taxi or an Uber, about 50 minutes each way by our estimate. Allow about an hour from landing to the train, and leave New Delhi 2 hours 15 minutes before your flight.
Getting through the border
Before any train, you pass Indian immigration and customs. Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) publishes no arrival queue times, so plan on about an hour from landing to the Airport Express platform.
- Before you land. Have your e-Visa approved and the free e-Arrival card filled in online: visa and transit rules.
- The desks. The automated Trusted Traveller lanes are for Indian citizens and OCI cardholders, and no paid fast track is sold for other passports, so queue at the immigration desks.
- Bags. If your bags are checked through to your final destination, you leave with your hand luggage. On separate tickets, or if your airline can’t keep them checked through while you leave the airport, collect them at the belt and leave them at the cloakroom before heading into town.
- A slow queue costs you time in town, not your flight: the time you must head back stays the same.
The options at a glance
| Airport Express | Prepaid taxi | Uber or Ola | |
|---|---|---|---|
| To | New Delhi station, stopping at Delhi Aerocity, Dhaula Kuan and Shivaji Stadium | Anywhere | Anywhere |
| Time | About 25 minutes to New Delhi | About 50 minutes to the centre, longer at rush hour (our estimate) | As a taxi |
| Single fare | ₹64 to New Delhi | Fixed at the booth | Shown in the app |
| Pay with | QR ticket from a machine | At the booth, before the ride | The app |
Airport Express: the quickest and most dependable
- Finding it. After customs, follow the signs to the metro. The station is in the metro building at Terminal 3, the same building as the cloakroom; Terminal 2 is a short walk or shuttle ride away.
- The route. From the airport station, called IGI Airport, trains run to Delhi Aerocity, Dhaula Kuan, Shivaji Stadium and New Delhi, about 25 minutes to the end. At New Delhi, change to the Yellow Line for Chandni Chowk, one stop north, for Old Delhi and the Red Fort.
- How often. The timetable isn’t published. Allow up to 15 minutes for a train (our allowance), which every plan on our itineraries includes.
- Tickets. Buy a QR ticket at the ticket machines in the station at Terminal 3 (there are more in Terminal 2 arrivals). Single fares to the airport: ₹64 from New Delhi, ₹54 from Shivaji Stadium, ₹32 from Dhaula Kuan and ₹21 from Delhi Aerocity. Whether the machines take foreign cards isn’t published, so carry some rupees.
- Bags. Free trolleys are allowed in the Airport Express stations and on through to Terminal 3.
- First and last trains. If you’re cutting it fine, check them on the day:
| Time | |
|---|---|
| First train from the airport into town | About 5am (the first leaves Dwarka Sector 21, one stop before the airport, at 4:45am) |
| Last train from the airport into town | Shortly after 11:15pm (the last leaves Dwarka Sector 21 at 11:15pm) |
| Last train back from New Delhi | 11:30pm |
Few layovers need the last train. You leave New Delhi 2 hours 15 minutes before your flight, so it only matters for a flight after about 1:45am. Missed it? Take a prepaid taxi or an app cab: about 45 minutes at night (our estimate). If you’re heading back late, check the Delhi Metro’s website or call its 24-hour helpline, 155370, on the day.
Taxis and ride-hailing
- Where. On Level 0 of the multi-level car park at Terminal 3, not at the kerb outside arrivals: prepaid and fixed-rate taxis, Uber, Ola and Evera electric cabs, at any hour. Book at the official pickup or in the app, not with drivers who approach you in the hall.
- Time. Allow about 50 minutes to central Delhi and an hour back, more at the morning and evening rush, and about 45 minutes at night. These are our estimates: nobody publishes ride times.
- Fare. A prepaid taxi’s fare is fixed at the booth before you ride, and Uber and Ola show theirs in the app.
When a cab is worth it. For Humayun’s Tomb, Qutub Minar, India Gate and the Lotus Temple, which are line changes away from the Airport Express; with children, a group or bags; and after the last train. For the Red Fort and Old Delhi, the metro avoids the traffic, which matters most on the way back.
Private transfers
Viator (opens in a new tab) lists pre-booked cars from Delhi airport, with a driver who meets you in arrivals at a price fixed in advance. They cost more than a prepaid taxi, but save the queue at the booth: worth it with heavy bags, or for a late return when you’d rather not find a cab in town.
Bags and terminals
- The cloakroom. In the metro building at Terminal 3, the same building as the Airport Express station, open 24 hours, for a few hours or up to 30 days. Bring your boarding pass and photo ID to leave and collect your bags. It’s outside the terminal, so it also suits anyone back early before the terminal door opens. Prices seen November 2026:
| Bag | First 2 hours | Each hour after that | Over 8 hours, up to 24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small, under 7 kg | ₹150 | ₹50 | ₹500 |
| Medium, 7 to 20 kg | ₹200 | ₹80 | ₹800 |
| Large, over 20 kg | ₹230 | ₹100 | ₹1,000 |
- In town. New Delhi’s Airport Express station has a paid cloakroom too.
- Terminals. Every international flight uses Terminal 3, which has the Airport Express station. Terminal 2 is a short walk or shuttle ride away. Terminal 1 is on a different metro line, the Magenta Line.
Timing your return
Be back at Delhi airport 90 minutes before departure, with your onward boarding pass and your passport. With your boarding pass already issued and no bag to drop, that’s time for departure immigration and security; the airport’s website shows live queue times for both. On separate tickets or with a bag to drop, come back earlier: Air India’s international counters close 75 minutes before departure. The airport’s advice to arrive 3 hours early is for check-in.
The terminal door. Guards let in only passengers with a ticket, from about 6 hours before an international flight, and check your boarding pass or e-ticket and your passport. Keep both on you, not in a bag. Coming back early to rest? You can’t go in before that 6-hour mark, so plan around it.
In practice, leave New Delhi station 2 hours 15 minutes before your flight, or a sight by cab 2.5 hours before.
| Layover | Time in Delhi |
|---|---|
| 6 hours | About 2 hours |
| 8 hours | About 4 hours |
| 10 hours | About 6 hours |
| 12 hours | About 8 hours |
Each row allows an hour from the plane to the Airport Express platform, 40 minutes into New Delhi with the wait for a train, 45 minutes back to Terminal 3 and 90 minutes at the airport, as in the itineraries. Going by cab leaves about 30 minutes less.